


Sometimes we have to be monsters in order to survive

by themagnificentquack



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Green Arrow and the Canaries (TV)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Injury (mentioned), bed sharing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:14:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22869187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themagnificentquack/pseuds/themagnificentquack
Summary: Okay so, Laurel gets hurt and Dinah’s like u should take the bed and Laurel’s like no and Dinah’s like let’s share (the only possible solution) and then they cuddle and it’s sweet and Laurel’s life has been lonely. Then they wake up and they’re in love and they talk about that and also Vince
Relationships: Dinah Drake/Earth-2 Laurel Lance, Dinah Drake/Laurel Lance
Comments: 4
Kudos: 66





	Sometimes we have to be monsters in order to survive

“It’s just a bruised rib” Laurel said. “It’s not even broken, I’ll be fine in a few days.” She and Dinah made their way up the stairs to the apartment they shared, Dinah surreptitiously making sure that she could catch Laurel if she fell. “You said it hurt to breathe” she replied, the exasperation in her voice hiding her worry. Laurel smiled. “That’s how bruised ribs work. I promise I’ll be fine.” Dinah sighed and said “I still think you should take the bed.”

They reached the couch and Laurel sat down heavily, Dinah perched on the coffee table in front of her. “I’m not letting you sleep on the couch in your own apartment D” Laurel said with finality. “Then we’ll share.” Dinah replied, causing Laurel to look up at her quickly. “My bed is huge. I’m rich now, remember?” Dinah smiled and when Laurel opened her mouth to reply she cut her off, saying, “I insist.” Laurel wanted to keep fighting back, mostly because she felt that Dinah wouldn’t want to share a bed with her if she knew how Laurel really felt, but she knew that behind her beautiful smile, Dinah was serious. So she sighed and agreed, even though she knew she’d regret it later. 

It really was sweet how much she cared. “I appreciate you D, you know that right?” Dinah’s smile reached her eyes and for a second Laurel forgot how to breathe. Dinah was just so goddamn beautiful. “I know” she said. Then, because she couldn’t hug Laurel without hurting her ribs, she leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. Laurel sat on the couch for a few seconds, her brain unable to process anything but the softness of Dinah’s lips, before she was able to realize that Dinah had gone into the bedroom and she got up to follow her.

Dinah helped Laurel change for bed, her fingertips ghosting over her skin, making Laurel inhale quickly. Luckily, Dinah didn’t seem to notice. Thankfully, Laurel wasn’t wearing a bra because she’d already removed it when she was treating the wound so she didn’t have to deal with the experience of watching Dinah take her bra off. She was already feeling light headed being so close to her. She still felt the spot where Dinah had kissed her cheek.

Dinah went to the bathroom to get changed so Laurel slipped into bed. She inhaled Dinah’s unique scent on the pillow - a mixture of lavender perfume, the wood of her guitar, and the wax she used on her bowstaff. Laurel inhaled deeply, letting it wash over her, sweeping away the leftover anger from the fight and replacing it with fondness, maybe even love. 

Laurel felt herself begin to shiver slightly when Dinah came in. She was wearing soft pajamas and her hair was down, her face clean of makeup. God, she looked beautiful. She smiled at Laurel and slipped into bed next to her, causing Laurel to shiver even more. This is why being in love sucks, Laurel thought. Her body wouldn’t shut up about it’s damn feelings. 

Of course, Dinah noticed. Fortunately, she was completely oblivious to the reason behind it. “Are you cold?” She asked. Because Laurel couldn’t say ‘No I’m just terrified to be so close to you because I’m in love with you’, she just said “I’m okay”. For some reason, this caused Dinah to stare at her. “What is it?” Laurel asked, worried that Dinah could sense her feelings somehow. Instead of replying, Dinah just held out her arm, inviting Laurel to lay her head on her shoulder. “Really it’s fine” Laurel said. “Stop saying you’re fine when your not Laurel” Dinah said. 

Torn between fear and the overwhelming desire to be close to Dinah, she inched closer and gently laid her head on the crook of Dinah’s shoulder, wincing as the change in position twinged her rib. Dinah wrapped her arm around Laurel, careful not to hurt her, and sighed happily into Laurel’s hair. She’s so cute, Laurel thought. After a few minutes, the shaking stopped and Laurel relaxed into Dinah’s side, even hesitantly draping her arm of Dinah’s stomach. She smiled as Dinah snuggled even closer to her. It really was wonderful. 

She couldn’t remember the last time anyone held her like this. She felt remarkably safe, her whole body infused with calm. She fell asleep easier than she had since her father died on Earth-2, the nightmares that usually plagued her fought off by Dinah’s warm embrace. 

—————

She woke up slowly, feeling content despite the sharp pain from her rib. She looked up to see Dinah smiling at her, already awake. “Hey” Laurel said with a soft smile, her voice still scratchy with sleep. Dinah hummed quietly and didn’t say anything. “What time is it?” Laurel asked, mostly just to break the silence, worried that things would become awkward. “I think around nine” Dinah said. Laurel frowned, confused. “Shouldn’t you be downstairs for the breakfast rush?” She asked. Dinah shrugged. “I didn’t want to wake you.” She said. “Besides, I figured I’d better get in some cuddle time while you couldn’t fight back” she added with a grin. 

Laurel rolled her eyes but she was smiling. She’d be lying if she said it didn’t warm her heart that Dinah wanted to be around her. Unfortunately, this caused the terrifying confession “I love you” to slip out of her mouth and by the time she realized it was too late. 

She froze, her whole body tense, total panic filling her brain, turning her thoughts into a broken record, ‘shit shit shit’ repeating over and over again. 

The record and the panic stopped suddenly when she saw Dinah’s wide smile, replacing ‘shit shit shit’ with ‘oh’ and filling her stomach with butterflies. “I love you too” Dinah said. 

For some reason, Dinah’s confession seemed to have a weight to it that had been taken from Laurel’s. “Yeah?” Laurel asked, a bubble of joy expanding out from her heart. “Yeah.” Dinah said. Then she took a deep breath, tainting Laurel’s joy with anxiety. “I think I’m in love with you.” Dinah said. 

And Laurel’s heart stopped. She couldn’t breathe. Dinah Drake was in love with her. She’d never allowed herself to even imagine the possibility. It seemed impossible. 

“Please say something” Dinah whispered. “It’s totally okay if you don’t feel the same way I just-” Laurel interrupted her. “I do, of course I do.” Dinah smiled and she looked so relieved and so happy and so beautiful that Laurel had to ask “How could you ever love me?”

Dinah’s joyful smile turned into a sympathetic one. “Love needs no reason. It just is.” She said, with all of her newly acquired zen master wisdom. 

“I... I killed him.” Laurel said. She forced herself to say his name. “Vincent”. She looked away from Dinah unable to meet to her eyes. 

Unfortunately, when sharing a bed with someone, wrapped in their arms, there’s not really anywhere to go. This made it easy for Dinah to snare her back in with a simple question. “Do you know how many people I killed?” Laurel turned back a confused look in her face. “I killed 17 people getting revenge for Vinny when he was killed the first time. I didn’t feel anything when I murdered any of them. I just crossed each of them of a list and moved on to the next one. I was going to cross you off too. We’re all monsters sometimes. Sometimes we have to be in order to survive.” 

Laurel lay quietly in Dinah’s arms for a few moments, processing. Finally, she said “You really did get so wise.” Dinah chuckled softly and Laurel smiled at her before saying “I’d like to take it slow if that’s okay.” Dinah nodded at her, still smiling.

She leaned forward until their lips were almost touching, and stopped, waiting for Laurel to make the first move. Tension was thick in the air, Laurel’s heart beat faster and faster until she leaned forward and closed the gap between them, fitting their lips together. 

The kiss was perfect, but she broke away after a few seconds because Dinah’s breath was horrible. Dinah laughed quietly when Laurel told her so, her face flushed and her lips red from the kiss. She untangled herself from Laurel gently. “Where are you going?” Laurel asked, worried that she’d offended her. Dinah grinned. “To brush my teeth.”


End file.
